NPRJust about every day, genetic counselor Shawn Fayer heads to the maternity ward at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and tries to convince new parents to give him a blood sample.
Fayer is offering gene sequencing for newborns. It gives parents a tantalizing look at their baby's genetic information.
New parents Lauren and Ian Patrick, from Marion, Massachusetts, were excited when they were first approached earlier this month.READ MORE

Obesity Society via ScienceDailyResearchers say they have identified a potential pathway in our muscle tissue to improve the rate at which our bodies burn calories. The study is one of the first to explore the tie between genetics and calorie burn, a relatively new area of biological study. The findings of the study were unveiled during a poster presentation at The Obesity Society Annual Meeting at ObesityWeek 2016 in New Orleans.READ MORE

MultiBriefs
In an effort to enhance the overall content of Oncology and GBEMTI eNews, we’d like to include peer-written articles in future editions. As a member of GBEMTI, your knowledge of the industry lends itself to unprecedented expertise. And we’re hoping you’ll share this expertise with your peers through well-written commentary. Because of the digital format, there’s no word limit, and our group of talented editors can help with final edits. If you’re interested in participating, please contact Ronnie Richard to discuss logistics.

Scientific AmericanWhether or not CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing can create superheroes as depicted on a new Netflix show, what it’s indisputably good at is this: editing a lot of genes really, really fast.
In research published in Cell Reports, scientists announced that they had used CRISPR/Cas9 to test gene after gene after gene in human immune system cells — 45 genes in all, sometimes simultaneously and sometimes individually — to identify those that have anything to do with infection by the HIV virus, which causes AIDS when it infiltrates those T cells.READ MORE

FORTUNEClifton Leaf writes: I have written a fair amount about the war on cancer over the years — much of it skeptical of the progress we’ve made and critical of the way we’ve prosecuted this 45-year-old campaign. I have slammed the lack of collaboration and data sharing among researchers; chided our ancient, sclerotic, and deadly slow process for testing new treatments; and blasted our aversion to risk-taking and exploration when awarding scientific grants.READ MORE

The Associated Press via Fox News For the third time, Johnson & Johnson has been hit with a multimillion-dollar jury verdict over whether the talc in its iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene.
Late Thursday, a St. Louis jury awarded $70.1 million to Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California, who was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in 2012. Giannecchini, then 59, said she had used Johnson's Baby Powder for more than 40 years to keep her genital area dry, as many women do. READ MORE

Health Information DesignsSpending on specialty pharmaceuticals climbed 18 percent in 2015, compared to an increase of less than 1 percent for standard prescription medications. Despite their effectiveness, specialty medications are under constant scrutiny—reflecting the growing concern of balancing clinical innovation with responsible spending.READ MORE

Medical XpressToday, healthcare is portrayed as standing at a crossroads. Precision medicine is expected to revolutionize future healthcare. Fundamentally, the promise of precision medicine is that an individual's genetic information will increasingly be used to prioritize access to health care. READ MORE

ScienceDailyStudies of the microbiome should be integral to future precision medicine initiatives, argue scientists from the University of Chicago in a new commentary published in Pharmacological Sciences.
A growing body of research shows the microbiome — the community of bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms living in the body, mostly in the digestive tract — plays a crucial role in human health and disease. READ MORE

Genoptix Medical LaboratoryGenoptix, a Novartis company, is a leading CAP-accredited and CLIA-certified specialized laboratory focused on delivering diagnostic services to hematology/oncology patients and the physicians who treat them.

Phys.orgNanoscience research involves molecules that are only 1/100 the size of cancer cells and that have the potential to profoundly improve the quality of our health and our lives. Now nine prominent nanoscientists look ahead to what we can expect in the coming decade, and conclude that nanoscience is poised to make important contributions in many areas, including health care, electronics, energy, food and water.
READ MORE

Houston ChronicleA Houston research team has uncovered a possible treatment for severe brain injuries that could dramatically improve the outlook for tens of thousands of trauma patients — from those injured on Houston highways, to soldiers wounded on faraway battlefields.
About 275,000 people across the country each year are wheeled into emergency rooms with severe traumatic brain injuries; about a fourth don't survive.READ MORE

Medical News TodayStem cell therapies for brain disorders like Parkinson's disease are rapidly moving toward clinical trials. However, before such treatments can leave the lab, it is vitally important to be able to consistently produce high-quality stem cells for transplant into patients. Now, scientists in Sweden have identified some insights — plus a set of markers — that should help control the quality of stem cells engineered for clinical use in Parkinson's disease.READ MORE

MedscapeAccountable care organizations represent a large and growing part of far-reaching transformations for the U.S. healthcare system, says Bradley Flansbaum, DO, MPH, MHM, a hospitalist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
But ask him how the hospitalist's working life is different today under an ACO, and he replies, "It's not. There is no difference in the way they get paid in an ACO," he says.READ MORE

LiveScienceThe labels on prescription testosterone will now carry a new warning about the serious health risks that have been linked with abuse of these products.
The Food and Drug Administration announced the new labels, saying that some people abuse testosterone drugs. For example, the agency said, athletes and body builders have been known to take doses that are higher than those prescribed, and to use testosterone together with other anabolic steroids.READ MORE

Reuters via Fox NewsThe number of children and teens hospitalized for prescription opioid poisonings has more than doubled in recent years, with both accidental overdoses and suicide attempts on the rise, a U.S. study suggests.
Annually, the rate of these opioid poisonings among youth up to 19 years old surged from 1.4 per 100,000 children in 1997 to 3.71 per 100,000 kids by 2012, the study found.READ MORE

News-Medical.netPembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug that was extensively evaluated by UCLA cancer researcher Dr. Edward Garon, has been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration as first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. The first-line designation means that some patients will have access to the drug without first having to receive other treatments such as chemotherapy.READ MORE

ForbesAs healthcare in America moves from a cottage industry to big business and gets progressively consolidated, regulated and systematized, the industry has found itself at a crossroads with its customers. Healthcare has technically always been patient-centric of course but like many business it never really focused on those patients — their unique needs and their relationship with them. READ MORE

NerdWallet via USA TodayIf you buy health insurance on a state or federal marketplace, the arrival of fall means it’s almost time to pick a health plan. The Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, requires most Americans to buy health insurance. This year’s open enrollment period lasts from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31 for anyone buying health insurance on their own, whether for one person or a family.READ MORE

Based on published clinical data, Humana, Medical Mutual of Ohio and Preferred One independently determined and published policies stating that Biodesix’ VeriStrat® test can be considered medically necessary for patients with advanced NSCLC. The VeriStrat test provides physicians with prognostic and predictive information to inform treatment of advanced NSCLC, and can facilitate patient-physician conversations about prognosis, life expectancy, and treatment recommendations. Click here for more information.

The treatment cost for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in the U.S. is approximately $14 billion a year and is projected to rise through 2020. To help managed care professionals more effectively analyze medical and pharmacy claims, Bayer has developed the “Treatment and Analysis of Colorectal Cancer Evidence” (TRACE) Analyzer. Click here for more information and who to contact.

In a recently published study, researchers demonstrated that the DecisionDx-UM gene expression profile test accurately predicts metastatic risk for uveal melanoma patients and is being used by physicians to appropriately guide patient care decisions with the ultimate goal to improve net health outcomes. Please click here to review the full press release.